Timeline of Events

Learn more about the key players in the Dontae Morris trial.

Dontae Morris

Dontae Morris is accused of killing Officers David Curtis and Jeffrey Kocab during a traffic stop in Tampa on the night of July 29, 2010. He turned himself in at a south Tampa law firm four days after the Tampa Police Department conducted the largest manhunt in the city's history.

Morris was later indicted on first-degree murder charges in the officers' deaths. He has also been found guilty of another murder and is awaiting trial on two more murder charges.

Judge William Fuente

Judge William Fuente serves in the 13th Judicial Circuit Court in Tampa, where he is presiding over Morris' murder trial.

Fuente presided over Morris' first murder trial, during which he had to dismiss an entire jury pool after attorneys had trouble selecting jurors who were not familiar with Morris. The jury ultimately came from Orlando.

Fuente has overseen other several high-profile murder trials in Tampa, including the trial of Richard McTear, who was accused of tossing his former girlfriend's baby from a moving car onto I-275. Fuente declared a mistrial in that case.

Officer David Curtis

Officer David Curtis, 31, was killed the night of June 29, 2010 during a traffic stop in Tampa. Officials said Curtis had stopped a vehicle because it did not have a visible license plate, then called for backup when he realized the driver, Dontae Morris, was wanted on an outstanding warrant.

Curtis left behind his wife, Kelly, and their four sons. He worked as a detention deputy with the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office before being hired by the Tampa Police Department in 2006. At the time of his death, he had served with the Tampa Police Department for nearly four years.

Officer Jeffrey Kocab

Officer Jeffrey Kocab, 31, was killed the night of June 29, 2010 during a traffic stop in Tampa. Kocab had responded to a call for backup by Officer David Curtis, who wanted to arrest the driver, Morris, an an outstanding warrant.

Kocab left behind a wife, Sara, who was pregnant with the couple's first child. The baby, named Lilly Nicole, was stillborn. Kocab had served with the Plant City Police Department starting in 2005, and then joined the Tampa Police Department in 2007, when he was named Officer of the Year.

Kelly Curtis

Officer Curtis' widow, Kelly, has started a foundation, the Tampa Bay Fallen Heroes Fund, aimed at helping the community show its appreciation for police officers while they are still alive.

Curtis and Kocab's widow, Sara, have filed a lawsuit against Dontae Morris, to keep him from using donated money to buy incidentals at the jail's canteen. They also filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Jacksonville Sheriff John Rutherford over the active warrants out for Morris' arrest. The lawsuit alleges Morris was in prison when the bad checks were written, and that the sheriff's office never took the mistaken warrants out of the state system.

Sara Kocab

Officer Kocab's wife, Sara, was pregnant with the couple's first child when her husband was shot and killed. The baby, a girl named Lilly Nicole, had an untreatable abnormality, and she was stillborn a month after Kocab's death.

The day after she delivered, Sara Kocab was in court to face Morris during his arraignment hearing.

Sara, along with Curtis' widow, Kelly, have filed lawsuits against Dontae Morris and Jacksonville Sheriff John Rutherford.

Tampa Police Chief Jane Castor

Police Chief Jane Castor oversaw the largest manhunt in Tampa history.

Over four days, hundreds of city, state and FBI officers fanned out over the city in search of Morris and Cortnee Brantley, who investigators said was with him at the time of the shooting.

Morris surrendered at a Tampa law firm on Friday, July 2. Brantley was also arrested that day.

Cortnee Brantley

Cortnee Brantley was with Morris, who was her boyfriend at the time, on the night of June 29, 2010. Investigators said she was a witness to the shootings.

Earlier this year, she was convicted in a federal court of misprision of a felony, based on the fact that she knew Morris was a convicted felon and that he had a concealed weapon and that she did not alert the police officers during the traffic stop. It was her second time standing trial on the charge.

Brantley was sentenced to 12 months and one day in federal prison, which will be followed by another year of supervised release.

Byron Hileman

Attorney Byron Hileman is representing Morris when he stands trial for the murder of the police officers. Hileman was also Morris' attorney during his first murder trial, when he was convicted of killing Rodney Jones outside of a Tampa nightclub.

Hileman, who is based in Winter Haven, has represented defendants in several high-profile murder cases, including Dorice "Dee Dee" Moore, who was found guilty of killing lottery winner Abraham Shakespeare, and Kyle Williams, who is accused of killing Lakeland police officer Arnulfo Crispin.

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